Robinhood Wades Deeper Into DeFi With Its Own Blockchain Launch, HOOD Stock Surges 9.8%
Key highlights:
- Robinhood has launched Robinhood Chain, its layer-2 blockchain on Arbitrum
- The brokerage unveiled several product announcements, including agentic trading for retail users
- HOOD stock rose by 8%, riding the wave of the streak of product launches
Robinhood has officially launched the public mainnet of its blockchain, strengthening its resolve to offer decentralized finance (DeFi) services to its customers. Dubbed Robinhood Chain, the new blockchain has garnered major ecosystem support, sending HOOD stock surging by nearly 10% over the last day.
Crypto heavyweights back Robinhood Chain
According to official documentation, the newly minted Robinhood Chain is a layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum. Robinhood disclosed that the blockchain will offer institutional-grade functionalities, providing a “turnkey environment for builders.”
Back in February, the brokerage began testing the network on the testnet, with a full-scale launch following four months later. The new blockchain will allow users to bridge across multiple chains and DeFi applications on Ethereum.
Right off the bat, Robinhood Chain has received the backing of several ecosystem players. Uniswap will deploy a dedicated AMM as a primary public liquidity protocol, while Pleiades will roll out a proprietary AMM on Robinhood Chain.
Furthermore, the quartet of Alchemy, Ethena, Chainlink, and BitGo will provide Robinhood Chain with fast block times and a raft of ready-to-use DeFi services, including borrowing and lending. Meanwhile, Robinhood is positioning the new blockchain to support tokenized real-world assets while remaining compatible with AI-native functionalities.
“AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets, Robinhood Chain creates a permissionless environment for builders to innovate seamlessly,” said Robinhood in a statement.
The company also launched Stock Tokens, allowing 24/7 trading of US equities on Robinhood Chain. However, the offering is not available in the US, with Robinhood waiting on the US SEC for regulatory clearance to introduce tokenized stocks to American consumers.
Hours after the announcement, the HOOD stock spiked by 8.35% to close trading at $108.65, continuing an impressive run. HOOD has gained 20% over the last month, buoyed by a wave of innovation from the brokerage company.
A flurry of product announcements for Robinhood
Robinhood also unveiled several products to users at the event, venturing deeper into the DeFi ecosystem. The company announced Robinhood Earn for selected US customers, its first decentralized lending product, offering up to 7% APY.
Robinhood disclosed that it will introduce Agentic Trading to crypto after successfully testing the waters with options and equities. Last month, Coinbase announced a range of AI services, teasing agentic trading for users and registering an AI agent as an investment advisor.
Meanwhile, Robinhood is expanding perpetual futures offering in Europe beyond crypto, announcing support for commodities, ETFs, and FX. The company is also eyeing expanding into crypto trading in the UK, a move that could see it broaden its reach beyond its 28 million customers.
According to the company, plans are in motion to expand services to Canada and Singapore, with Robinhood racking up regulatory approvals and acquisitions along the way.
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